Friday, September 17, 2010

College preview Week 2

The Series: Washington & Jefferson and Bethany meet for the 87th time in history on Saturday. The series is the longest in both schools' histories. W&J holds a 66-20 advantage in the all-time series and has won 27 consecutive times. The Bison last defeated the Presidents on Sept. 25, 1982, by a 28-9 margin in Washington.

The Coaches: Mike Sirianni (Mount Union ’94) is in his eighth season as the head coach at Washington & Jefferson with a 70-13 (.854) overall record. The three-time PAC Coach of the Year and 2004 South Region Coach of the Year is second among all active NCAA head coaches in winning percentage (minimum five years of experience). Head Coach Tim Weaver (Davidson '90) is in his fifth year at Bethany. He also serves as the BC Director of Athletics. The Bison have posted a 15-27 record since his arrival on campus.

Notes: W&J has posted a 46-5 regular-season record in games at Cameron Stadium since 2000. The Presidents have won 30 of their past 35 home openers. The Presidents have won 11 of their last 12 games during the second week of the season, including seven in a row. The average margin of victory during those 10 wins is 20.8 points. W&J's last week two loss was at Allegheny (28-25) in 2002.

The Series: Waynesburg leads the series, 23-8-1, including a 38-17 victory last year. The first meeting was 1913, a 20-0 victory for Thiel.

The Coaches: Rick Shepas is in his sixth season at Waynesburg and has a record of 28-24. Thiel's Kurt Reiser is in his second season and has a 3-9 record.

Notes: Waynesburg has won the last four meetings between the two schools, which is the Jackets’ longest such streak against any Presidents’ Athletic Conference. ... Dominic Moore’s two touchdown runs were the most by a Waynesburg freshman on opening day since 2007.

The Coaches: This weekend’s game will feature a meeting of 200-win coaches in John Luckhardt (Cal U; 207) and Denny Douds (East Stroudsburg; 227) for only the 29th time in all NCAA history with the last coming in last year’s Division II playoffs between Luckhardt and Mel Tjeerdsma (Northwest Missouri State).

Notes: Through the first two games of the season, the Vulcans lead the conference and NCAA Division II with a plus-eight turnover margin behind six interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Last week against C.W. Post, Cal U forced five turnovers with three interceptions and committed its first turnover of the year on a first-quarter interception after a tipped ball. … Sophomore running back Lamont Smith rushed for over 100 yards and three scores last week, as Cal U posted a 40-13 win at C.W. Post. The Vulcans scored 30-unanswered points, rushed for over 250 yards and forced five turnovers in the victory.